Event Date: February 4, 2009
Event Venue: CIA

I defy anybody to go to a Keane gig, and not be a fan by the end of it.

It had been nearly two years since the last time Keane came to my area on tour, but it was well worth the wait. It was unfortunate that the weather appeared to conspire against their coming, with all of the snow leading up to that point, but happily it all went ahead as planned.

In my last review, I spoke about the bar being set by Keane for the most amazing gig ever, and although the two in some ways cannot be compared, I have to say that the band excelled themselves this time.

I knew exactly what to expect, having experience from previous gigs to draw on, but this did not diminish the experience. Far from it - I feel as though I could see Keane every week and never become tired of them (I would say every day, but I do have other interests in life - where would I fit in shopping, for example). It stands to reason; I listen to Keane almost every day, and my appreciation for them only grows. However, that is not to say that the night was without surprises, or, conversely, that my expectations were not met, and it's quite plain to see how high those were.

Before I talk about the gig itself, I must mention the support band, as I did last time. Frankmusik (no, I haven't spelt it wrong), a beat driven, heavy on the bass, electronica/club band from London, supported and actually didn't do a bad job, despite the Keane audience perhaps not being their usual one. The songs had some semblance of meaning, the vocals weren't bad, and the band did gel as a whole, which is always a good thing. Despite myself, I even enjoyed the guitar solo.

But, who cares? We were there to see Keane, and, need I say it? They were amazing.

One of the most notable differences from two years ago was the extension of the stage out via a walkway into the middle of the arena. This was new to me, actually, and I wondered what it was all about, until later in the night when I found out. In a highly effective, if not entirely unique, move, the band performed some songs acoustically on the middle platform. This provided a stunning compliment to the full glory of songs performed in their normal capacity. Plus, you just have to love the way Keane decided to throw in a snippet of 'The River' by Bruce Springsteen as segue between acoustic and electric sounds. Tom sung that small part so beautifully, I only wish they'd done the whole song.

There was definitely a different atmosphere during the acoustic songs than the rest. Instead of singing along as I usually would, I could only stand silently and attempt to absorb every note to its fullest capacity. It was just too beautiful to adulterate with the sound of my own voice. In contrast to this reverential awe, however, the band were fully able to whip the crowd up into a frenzy again, moving seamlessly from 'The River' to 'You Haven't Told Me Anything,' one of the many excellent tracks from the new album.

The set list was fantastic. Of course, there will always be those who argue that this song or that song should have been included, but all I know is that the evening wasn't lacking those songs. Indeed, there were songs that I would like to have heard, but, ultimately, I accept that the band know what they're doing. They know which songs fit what they're trying to achieve and they know how to put them together in order to convey that effect. The songs they chose went perfectly together. The overall mood of the evening was one of optimism, and the positivity was infectious, everybody left with a smile on their face.

For me, one of the best moments was singing along to 'Spiralling.' Although this isn't my favourite track off the album, it was the first released from it, and I'd waited a long time to 'Ooh!' along with the band. It was a fantastic moment, I won't forget it for a long time. 'Perfect Symmetry,' the title track of the album, was delivered brilliantly, as was our old favourite, 'Somewhere Only We Know,' which everybody sung along to. I bet they can play that one in their sleep. Of all the songs they played, I feel 'Crystal Ball' is the one which most benefits from the live setting. The song is great on the album, but live it gets lifted into another dimension. That sounds like a big cliché, so let me qualify by saying the song seems to have more high and low when it is played live; the chorus more impact with the force of an arena full of people hitting the top note, and the lyrics a greater sincerity than ever before. The final song was 'Bedshaped,' and thank goodness it was, because it remains to be, for me at least, the pinnacle of a Keane gig. This is further proof that the band know what they're doing, for I would have been severely disappointed if they had left it out. Once again, the yellow and white lights saw us through to the end of the gig in style.

All that remains to be said is roll on the next Keane gig. I'll be there.

Event Date: February 26, 2007
Event Venue: CIA

Keane are amazing.

This was the very first gig I went to, and it set the bar so high I'm not sure it has ever been reached again. In fact, I know that it hasn't because this was something special. This was the night when I discovered live music, and the the way in which an album is only half of the story.

I was ridiculously excited. I had no idea what to expect, I had seen gigs televised before, but in that respect had been detached from the whole experience. Of course, there is still an appreciation of the music to be had, Keane are incredibly talented musicians, but as I'm sure anybody who's been to a gig can attest, there's nothing that compares to being a part of the audience there in the flesh.

When I stepped into the arena I was astounded at the vastness of the place. I was relatively near the front of the queue so when I got in there wasn't a huge amount of people present, yet the place already had a tangible sense of anticipation; more so a sense of promise and an assured expectation of something that would not fail.

I wasn't blown away but the support band. I thought they were pretty dismal, actually. The sound quality was bad, meaning you couldn't hear the lyrics even if you wanted to. I was perturbed how this could be the case, surely they would have sorted it out in rehearsal? I wasn't concerned for them, I was concerned for Keane, but I should have known that Keane's sound system would be brilliant.

Finally, finally, Keane took to the stage - the place was, of course, packed by this point, and buzzing. There was certainly electricity in the air that night, but I was so much a part of it myself that it was almost as if I gave myself over to the music, to the other people that were there, to share my excitement with them.

Keane were amazing. Absolutely amazing.

It was the simple things that made some of the greatest impressions. The purity of Tom's voice, soaring with an absoluteness that kept you with him in the room, and yet took you to a whole other place. The way he moved on stage and invited the audience to sing with him. The mastery of Tim on the piano and various keyboards/synths. The passion that came from Richard on drums. It may sound silly, but you can definitely tell if a drummer is merely keeping a beat, or whether he really believes in what he's doing, and Richard performed flawlessly the entire night.

One of the stand-out tracks was definitely 'Bedshaped'. In case you are not familiar, a portion of the lyrics go like this:

'You’ll follow me back with the sun in your eyes
And on your own
Bedshaped
And legs of stone
You’ll knock on my door
And up we’ll go
In white light
I don’t think so'

On the words 'sun' and 'white light' the screen covering the entire back wall turned to yellow or white, respectively. It's amazing how such a small detail could have such a powerful result.  Another stand-out track was 'A Bad Dream', the recitation of the poem beforehand proving to enhance the experience and immerse you further into the song's lyrics and sentiment. I could go on, there's not a single weak song in Keane's repertoire.

Speaking of Keane's repertoire, since this gig last year Keane have produced another album, 'Perfect Symmetry', which has reached #1 in the UK album charts. I could talk for another age on this album, but I shall merely say that it's fresh and new, and yet has a resonance that is distinctly Keane. I love it, and if you haven't bought it yet you should go and do so immediately. I have already bought my tickets for their gig in February at the CIA and it will be truly profound to return a year on to the same venue where I saw them last time. I can't wait!

Have been a fan of Keane for a few years, but have only just been lucky enough to see them live and they were AMAZING.  Knew they would be good but they sounded even better live, the energy of the band just shone thru and the audience were all singing along. I agree I could go every week too and still never tire.  Roll on their next gig - can't wait and will try for front row ..